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Eiji Kikumaru
History Eiji Kikumaru is a third year student at Seigaku. He is in the same class as Shūsuke Fuji and also happens to be one of his good friends. He is part of Seigaku's "Golden Pair" along with Shūichiro Oishi. Using his acrobatic play he can return almost any ball, even those that seem out of human reach. Eiji is also known to have the sharpest vision on the team, with an exceptional talent for seeing moving objects. The only other member of his team to have this talent is Ryoma Echizen. This proves to be both a strength and a weakness, especially when matched against St. Rudolph's team captain Akazawa. Other than his well known style of acrobatic play, he has his own signature smash move called " Kikumaru Beam;" which is essentially a very high behind-the-back smash that is launched either at the corner of the opponent's court, or directly at the opponent. Though the Golden Pair seldom play without each other, Eiji has been paired with his friend and teammate Shūsuke Fuji to form the "Dream Pair", as well as forming a makeshift Golden Pair with Takeshi Momoshiro. In the Nationals story arc of the manga, Eiji plays singles after Oishi gave his spot to a returning Tezuka (Echizen in the anime). He says that if Oishi will not be his partner, that he refuses to play doubles anymore. After his first match against Higa Middle School, however, he proclaims that playing singles tennis is "too lonely," and the Golden Pair becomes a team again. Eiji's main weakness is a lack of stamina, which he overcomes through hard work and training later on in the series. His main rival is Hyōtei Gakuen's Gakuto Mukahi, another acrobatic player who is extremely light and surpasses him in acrobatic play. Although Oishi and Eiji get along very well and the two together form the famous "Golden Pair," they do have their disagreements. When Momoshiro was dropped from the Regulars and stopped attending practice, Eiji was making jokes that Oishi found insensitive. Eiji then made fun of the fact that Oishi's shirt was inside out causing the co-captain to snap and shove Eiji, pushing him across the courts. The Golden Pair stopped talking to each other until Momoshiro returned to team practices. The Golden Pair met in their first year at Seigaku. In the anime, Eiji was a flashy singles player and found Oishi's play style boring. When he challenged Oishi to a match, he lost and couldn't figure it out. Retreating to the green bins at the park - a place the Golden Pair always go to when they need to think things over after losing a match - he saw Oishi practicing there. Eiji then told Oishi he would play doubles with him until he was able to defeat Oishi at tennis. In the manga, Eiji met Oishi by bumping into him in his first day of school after Shūsuke told Eiji that Oishi was a nice person, then developed quickly a strong admiration towards him (he even defended Oishi when he found some teammates spreading ill rumors about him), and finally asked Oishi to be his partner. In the anime, when Eiji is first introduced, he launches into a full description of himself. "My name is Kikumaru Eiji. I am twelve years old. I was born on the 28th of November. My blood type is A. I have a grandma, grandpa, Mother, Father and two older brothers and two older sisters...." During their match against Niō Masaharu and Yagyū Hiroshi from Rikkaidai Fuzoku, Oishi (who at that time was injured) thinks Eiji has already surpassed him and doesn't need to play doubles with him anymore. After Oishi gives up his spot prior to the Nationals and temporarily retires, Eiji is left without a partner; he swears that he'll never play doubles again if not with Oishi, therefore he starts a very rigorous training to overcome his flaws as a player and prove to Oishi that he's not a burden. In Seigaku's first match against Higa Chuu, he plays in the Singles 2 spot against Kai Yūjirō,and eventually wins 7-6. During the match against Hyōtei, Eiji and Oishi are back as a doubles pair and even play for their last doubles match against Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku's Marui/Kuwahara pair. After the Nationals arc, the Seigaku regulars, along with several other middle school tennis players, are invited to the Under-17 camp. They are all tricked into participating tiebreaker-style Singles matches with the partner of their choice, with Eiji being Oishi. Eiji was at match point 6-2 when he started to double-fault purposely, then started to play seriously after a reprimandation from his partner. Eiji goes on to win the match 7-4, but requests Oishi to leave his racket behind so he also would not be left out of the U-17 camp. Personality He is a friendly, sweet-tempered and outgoing character and the youngest of a large family. So unlike most of the characters, Eiji is usually referred to by his given name. Eiji acts like a cat, which shows in his acrobatics and how he likes to add a "Nya" (the Japanese onomatopoeia for a cat's meow) at the end of his sentences. This is especially evident in the chibi episodes where in the TeniPuri Family stories he is the family's pet cat. He is also shown to be very playful, as proven when he helps Tomo and Sakuno cheer for Ryoma during his match against Reiji Shinjō using a special chant and in Episode 91, when he impresses the neighborhood kids with his acrobatic skills on Rokkaku's playground. When playing games, most character's concentration are broken up by attention and pressure. But Eiji loves the attention and actually focuses much more when he's being cheered on. In doubles, although it looks as if Eiji is the one who controls the flow of the doubles matches when the audience sees the "Golden Pair" play (due to his flashy style and the fact that Eiji is the one who gets the ball the most), people often mistake him as the game maker. However, Oishi is the game maker. In their game against Yamabuki, Eiji asks Oishi if they can start to attack their opponents; by doing so, it indicates that Oishi is the game maker in their combination (Eiji likes to play at the net while letting Oishi control the flow of the game). Eventually, Eiji matures as a doubles player during his Doubles 2 match with Momoshiro against Hyōtei, when Eiji learns that being a game maker is more difficult than he realized and appreciates Oishi's role in their partnership. During the match against Hyōtei Gakuen he realizes as Momoshiro's senpai, he must learn to be the game maker and give up his usual net play, in order to defeat Hyōtei and help Momoshiro control the flow of the game. Eiji calls Ryoma "o-chibi", "little guy" , while the others call him Echizen or Ryoma. He also likes to hug Ryoma the most and sometimes likes to hang off him while watching a match. Momoshiro seems to adopt this movement, so that they simultaneously jump on Ryoma. During the matches against the American team, Eiji seems to be always having a hold on Ryoma in one way or another. Tennis style and Techniques Eiji is a serve-and-volleyer, as well as one of the most vibrant and flashy characters. He is mostly renowned for his acrobatic play and his upbeat personality. He is, by nature, a doubles tennis player, but he has shown that he is a more than capable singles player if needed. In doubles, when Eiji's up at the net he usually controls the game. With Oishi at the baseline, this pair can make plays that earns them the title of the "Golden Pair". In the beginning of the series, Eiji's stamina (or rather, the lack of) was his biggest weakness. During the St.Rudolph match against the Akazawa/Kaneda pair, it got to the point where Eiji had to stand still for 2 games to recover his stamina, and it still wasn't enough to keep him going for the rest of the game. However, by playing doubles with Momo and Fuji, as well as self-training himself in a low-oxygen area, he was able to not only overcome his weakness but also mature enough to become stronger than Oishi. ;Acrobatic Play (アクロバティックプレイ) :Not just for flash, Eiji's flexible body allows him to reach balls with a touch of flair that few can replicate. His graceful diving volleys and flips astonish the spectators and often gets grudging praise from his opponents. ;Motion Vision :Eiji's eyes are so sharp that he can even catch the minute movements of a ball in motion. This is first shown after Inui is off the regulars, and becomes the team's trainer. During the training session, Eiji's vision is commented on by his fellow teammates. Though this ability has been used against him (see the doubles match against St. Rudolph's Yoshirō Akazawa and Ichirō Kaneda), it is definitely a plus as it allows Eiji to react faster and keep up his acrobatic play, and as an observer he can see the ball and mention details such as when Ryoma plays against Jōsei Shonan's Reiji Shinjō (anime only). Also, it is shown when Ryoma plays against Fuji in a practice match. ;Kikumaru Beam (菊丸ビーム) :The Kikumaru Beam is a sharp volley that is hit in the air by Eiji with his right hand on the backhand side of his body, pinpointing the ball to the place where the opponents are not standing. It is usually depicted as a backhand smash, but has been shown as a volley. ;Moon Ball (ムーンボール) :Though this is Oishi's move, Eiji uses the topspin lob volley to both help Momoshiro and himself to both mature and gain the flow of the match during the game against Hyōtei Gakuen Doubles 2, though he didn't hit it at the last line as Oishi did. ;Kikumaru Bazooka (菊丸バズーカ) :Eiji spins high up in the air and fires off a powerful ground-stroke while also shouting out "Kikumaru Bazooka!" Sometimes depicted as a smash. ;Kikumaru Seal Step (菊丸印のステップ) - Seal Step :Eiji uses his natural flexibility and speed to move from one location to a new one the moment the opponent's eyes leave his first location. This gives the opponent the impression that there are two of him for a doppelganger type effect. The anime exaggerates this more than the manga giving Eiji the ability to high five and hug his doppelganger making it slightly supernatural. Where as in the manga it is all about Eiji using his speed at the right moments for an illusion as is revealed during the match against Saeki Kojirō and Itsuki Marehiko of Rokkaku. :In the anime, he first used this in a 3 on 1 practice match against his teammates before the Kantō finals. In the manga, he reveals this during the Doubles 1 match against Rokkaku. ;Synchronization (同調) :When playing in the nationals with Oishi as his doubles 1 partner, they become fully synchronized and moved as if they were one; breathing as one and knowing exactly what their partner's next move would be. It was said that doubles players could not go to the top of the pros without 'synchronization'. He and Oishi can now go into 'synchro' willingly. Trivia *There is a grand total of eleven members in the household. His name, however, means 'excellent second son'. *Father's occupation: Office worker (News reporter) *Eiji has been shown to be quite popular in the Prince of Tennis series. He came in 3rd place in the first poll, and repeated that feat in the second one. He then came in 8th in the third poll, and 11th in the fourth. *For the live-action adaptation film of The Prince of Tennis, Tenimyu actor Osamu Adachi portrays Eiji. In The Prince of Tennis Musicals, Eiji is portrayed by actors Yamazaki Ichitaro (2003-2004), Takashi Nagayama (2003-2005), Osamu Adachi (2005-2006), Kōji Seto (2006-2007), Kyōsuke Hamao (2007-2009), and Shōta Takazaki (2008-present). In the Philippine Dubbed version a college student dubbed his voice, Neil Bayawa. *One of his hobbies is brushing his teeth, and he owns a blue toothbrush *Eiji is the very first person in the anime (in the manga, it is Kaidoh Kaoru) in the Seigaku team to have tasted Inui's concoctions. *Eiji's favorite type of fish is eel (shown in Episode 21). *Astrological Sign: Sagittarius. *Height: 171cm. *Weight: 52kg. *Blood Type: A. *Shoes: WILSON (Slash DTmid). *Racket: DUNLOP (REVELATION PRO TOUR SERIES 90). *Favorite Food: Omelet rice, Fried Shrimp, Shaved Ice. *Favorite Subject: Japanese History. *Favorite Color: Red. *Preferred type: Cheerful, and someone he can share his laughter with. *Favorite Date spot: Amusement park. *Favorite music: J-Pop. *Special skills aside tennis: Cooking, fly-swatting, collecting bugs. Category:Characters Category:Tennis Player Category:Seigaku Tennis Club Member